Faculty and staff users with a Missouri State University email account can create an Office 365 Group and add members. Groups can be used for a variety of functions, such as whole department groups, teams within departments, collaboration across departments, community organizations, and more.

Step-by-step guide

Groups can be accessed from within most Office 365 applications, but the People app is a good place to get started. Locate and select the People tile from your portal.

When the People app opens, the Groups folder will be listed in the left sidebar. Hover over Groups and select the plus sign to the right.

The Create a group panel will open on the right side of your screen. There are two types of Groups available, but we recommend everyone start with a Standard Group. Click Next to proceed.

The next panel allows you to select a name for your Group. Type your desired Group name in the Choose a name box; the system automatically checks to see if that name is available. If the Group name is available, your Group email address is automatically populated and shown in green text.

Next, enter a short description about your Group to let others know who and what the Group is for.

Set the Privacy for your Group. We recommend Private for all but community-focused Groups.

Set the Group language preference.

If you want all Group members to receive Group mail and notifications in their personal inboxes (like a distribution list), select the check box at the bottom of the panel.

When you are done making your selections, press the Create button at the top of the panel to save your new Group.

You can now Add members by typing their names in the box (Lastname, First) to search the campus directory. Select the correct person from the drop-down list.

Only users with Missouri State University email accounts can be added to Groups at this time. All students, faculty, and staff can be added to Groups.

Select Add when you are done adding members to the Group.

You will be taken to the Group Conversations inbox, where you can then navigate the various tools and features of your new Group.